


Rotation of Universes

by GalacticNB



Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: A Lot Of People Are Poly With Parallel Kirby, A lot of the relationship tags are a mix of the various universes so keep that in mind, Anime Kirby is called Hoshi, Anxiety Attacks, Depression, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Game Kirby is called Kirby, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Mental Abuse, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parallel Kirby is called Parallel, Parallel Universe Is Bad Ending Where Kirby Didn't Win Ever So Gave Up, Shadow Kirby is called Shadow, Threats of Violence, mentioned drinking, world swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27660122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticNB/pseuds/GalacticNB
Summary: Kirby wakes up in a world blanketed in eternal darkness and where it's risky to be outside.Shadow wakes up in a world of light ruled by a tyrannical king who orders monsters to terrorizes the town.Hoshi wakes up in a world where the hero never defeated the second villain and so ended up not wanting to try anymore.Parallel wakes up in a world where the hero has defeated every enemy he has come up against.Now it's time for them to figure out how to return to their own worlds
Relationships: Bandana Waddle Dee & King Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee & Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee & Meta Knight, Dark Matter Swordsman & Kirby, Dark Matter Swordsman & Magolor, Dark Matter Swordsman/Landia, King Dedede & Kirby, King Dedede/Meta Knight, Kirby & Magolor (Kirby), Kirby & Mark | Marx, Kirby & Meta Knight, Landia & Magolor (Kirby), Queen Sectonia/Dark Taranza(Kirby), Queen Sectonia/Taranza (Kirby)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	1. Where Am I?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [We Should Probably Do Something About This](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607819) by [blagapoyt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blagapoyt/pseuds/blagapoyt). 



Kirby woke up feeling very refreshed, which was a little odd, considering how he had sparred with the rest of the Star Allies yesterday. However, he just shrugged it off as a stroke of good luck. He yawned as he looked out the window and saw that it was very dark outside.

Had he accidentally slept through until it was nighttime? Oh well.

Stretching, he got up, and then paused. He could’ve sworn that his posters didn't have holes and weren’t so washed out but, given the time of day, he just shrugged it off as something that was just a trick of the light. When he opened the door to his room, he was greeted by a soft warm glow and some humming coming from the kitchen.

Had one of his friends decided to cook him dinner? That was nice of them!

Heading into the kitchen, he paused as he saw that the source of the humming was a Dark Matter with a long cloak that seemed to sparkle as if it was made of stars and was lined with fluffy fur that looked extremely comfortable. They didn’t seem to notice them as they put food onto three plates (But there were only the two of them?) before turning around, showing that they had a green eye in the center of their face as well as one as the clasp of their cloak. They seemed to be startled as they stared at Kirby.

“Ummm...hi?” Kirby asked with a small wave.

The Dark Matter blinked a few times before got a tired look on their face as they set one of the plates on the table, revealing it to be chocolate chip pancakes.

“You start eating as I go get Cer.” they said, their voice light and airy as they floated out of the room.

Startled and more than a little confused, Kirby sat at the table and quietly ate his pancakes as he glanced around the kitchen. As he did, he noticed small details that were different from the ones in his world. Instead of having pictures up of him, Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Dee, there were ones of a strange but familiar looking gray kirby with the Dark Matter he had just talked to, a feathered dinosaur, and…

He nearly choked on his food as he recognized the unmistakable appearance of Magolor’s form after he took the Master Crown. Hell, in the picture, he even had it on his head, though the Crown was now a silver color with a pink eye in the center. However, he seemed much softer looking and looked more bird-like than bat-like, and his bright cyan eyes were crinkled in an obvious smile that was hidden by his clothing.

“I’m guessing you recognize Magolor, hm?” the Dark Matter said from behind him.

He jumped and turned around to see that the Dark Matter was in the doorway with the dinosaur, who he guessed was Cer, behind them, a worried look on their face as they peered at Kirby.

“Y-yeah.” Kirby affirmed with a nod of his head as he continued to eat slowly.

The Dark Matter and dinosaur settled at their spots, both eating slowly as well. However, the Dark Matter paused, their eye looking tired as they looked at Kirby, a pain in their eye that he couldn’t really name.

“Our Kirby had told us about you. How you helped him take down Dark Mind and make him explode into a fiery wreck.” The Dark Matter said slowly, their hand holding the clasp of their cloak and touching it gently.

That’s when it clicked who the person in the phos were and where he was.

The gray Kirby in the photos was Shadow Kirby, and he was now in the Mirror World for an unknown reason.

=======

Meanwhile, in a place called Pupu Village, Shadow Kirby woke up with a groan to sunlight hitting his eyes. Squinting in the blinding light, he stumbled out of bed and closed the curtains, sighing in relief as his eyes no longer hurt. However, the relief was short as he realized something.

**_Why was there sunlight hitting his eyes?_ **

He looked around the house and realized it was much smaller than his normal house, with no signs of his parents or brother anywhere. Starting to panic a bit, he went outside and found rolling fields of green for as long as he could see, with a castle in the far distance and a small village a little closer.

His breath started to quicken.

Where was everyone?

Were they hurt?

Why was he here?

Where even was here?

It didn’t even look like the other Kirby’s Dreamland!

However, his anxious stream of thought was cut off by something pecking at his head, causing him to reflexively hit it away with all his strength, sending it crashing into the tree next to the house. As he regained a little bit of control back, he saw that it was a strange yellow bird with a purple beak who was rubbing the back of his head before flying back over, looking even more pissed off.

“What’s the big idea?!” the bird squawked indignantly.

“You fucking pecked me while I was distracted! That ain’t my fucking fault!” Shadow Kirby snapped, feeling his temper rising.

That seemed to startle the bird as it blinked a few times before it got real close to his face, seeming almost worried and confused.

“Did you just...talk? And swear?” the bird asked slowly.

“Yeah, what’s your point?” he grumbled, the anxiety inside of him slowly turning into impatient anger.

“I’m...going to get Fumu.” the bird said slowly, backing up before quickly flying away.

Shadow huffed, glad that he was gone. Setting his eyes on the castle in the distance, he headed toward there, having a feeling that Dedede would have an idea of whatever is going on here.

=======

Hoshi Kirby woke up to someone knocking on his door. Confused, he stumbled out of bed, letting out a soft “poyo” as he waddled toward the door. As he opened it, he blinked in confusion at the lavender orb with one blue eye, one red, a mirrored colored jester hat with circles and triangles on it, and beautiful large golden wings with stained glass patterns. The giant grin on his face was replaced with one of confusion as he tilted his head to the side.

“Who the fuck are you?” the orb asked, looking Kirby up and down.

“Kirby!” Hoshi chirped happily, though he quickly got distracted by the pretty wings.

“I mean, I got that, considering you look like my buddy just in a more…” he poked at Hoshi with a wing, making him giggle and squirm away from the claw, “soft color palette.”

“Poyo!” he said happily, grabbing at the wing so he could be poked again.

“Hey, hey, hey! Hand off the merchandise!” he said, smacking him with the other wing in an attempt to get him off.

However, Hoshi didn’t get the message that he was supposed to get off, as he thought that it was just a game, so he continued to climb up the wing until he was solidly on the back, giggling as he waited for the person to try to get him off again. The person looked almost worried as he stared at Hoshi, which was solidified when he sighed and started to fly towards somewhere, making him giggle and cling onto the wing tighter.

“Time to see if Taranza knows what’s up with you.” he said with a begrudging sigh.

Hoshi giggled happily, excited to meet another new friend.

=======

In Dreamland, Parallel woke up to some loud knocking. He ignored it, rolling over and pulling the covers over his head. He was still a little hungover from his drinking contest with the others, with him tieing with Galacta Knight before he ended up passing out. Each knock made his headache even worse, making him groan in irritation as he threw off the sheets and made his way to the front door, too pissed off to look around as he flung open the door.

A strangely cute Waddle Dee with a blue bandana stood in the doorway, looking very cheerful. However, the cheerful look faded and was replaced with a confused and worried one.

“Kirby? You’re looking...different.” they said, glancing him up and down.

“This is the way I’ve always looked, what do you mean…?” he trailed off as he looked behind the Waddle Dee.

There were rolling hills of green from back when he was a child, sunny skies that were filled with fluffy white clouds instead of the dirty smoggy skies of his present, and birds and people running around and playing and just having a good time. Waddle Dee, seeing his confusion, gently placed a hand on his.

“We...should go see the others.” they said slowly, starting to lead him down the path that he hadn’t walked down in a long time.

He numbly nodded and followed, taking in all of the sights as he tried not to think about how his world would’ve looked like this if he hadn’t failed.


	2. Similar but Also Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kirby's find out a little more about the strange worlds they found themselves in.

“What was the last thing that you remember from last night?” The Dark Matter, who had introduced xemself as Nebula, asked as breakfast was finished and xey started to wash the dishes.

“I remember that I had been sparring/hanging out with Bandana and the rest of the Star Allies, minus Dark Meta Knight, I went to bed, and then I woke up here." Kirby replied, still not fully used to a Dark Matter who was fully cognitive.

"That checks out. Kirby had gotten back from his normal routine of sparring with Meta Knight and hanging out with Magolor and his partners, ate dinner with us, and then headed off to bed." Ceradon, which is what Kirby learned the full name of the dinosaur was, said, tapping veir chin thoughtfully.

"So, what do you think happened?" Kirby asked, leaning on the table as he slurped up his orange juice.

"No clue. Best way to go is to Sectonia and ask her if we can use the Dimensional mirror." Nebula said as xey finished putting away the dishes.

"Sectonia?" Kirby asked, surprised to hear about the former queen.

"Yeah, she was put in charge of it after it was observed that not only does it not affect her, but her counterpart is…" Nebula paused, seeming sad for a minute before it flickered into a determined expression as xey picked up Kirby’ now empty glass, "Anyway, all we have to do is show her you and she'll probably let us use it, at least to go through and find out what the hell is going on." xey finished, floating toward the entrance.

"Okay! That seems pretty easy!" Kirby said with a cheerful and optimistic nod.

"That...actually reminds me." Nebula's cloak opened to reveal two clawed hands that were together in a cupping motion, "It would probably be best for you to travel via being carried, as there are a number of people here who would...not be happy to see you and being in the shadow of my cloak would conceal you completely, or at least to the point of being mistaken for Shadow.” xey explained.

“Yeah, I know that Meta Knight might be...okay with me being here but I would imagine that people like Dedede would probably want my head on a spike.” Kirby agreed as he carefully stepped onto xeir hands.

Xey carefully cradled him to xeir chest, making him surprised at how toasty it was. He couldn't help but snuggle down into the fluff, his eyes drooping a bit even though he had just woken up. He heard Nebula softly purr and the last thing he remembered before he drifted off was the sound of a door closing and soft whispering.

=======

The trek to Castle Dedede was much longer than the one in his universe and it didn’t take long for his stomach to grumble. It really sucked that he wasn’t with anyone he knew who could cook some food for him. Sighing, he sat down at the bottom of a tree, his hands shaking with a mix of low blood sugar as well as the anxiety and anger he was feeling.

“Kirby!” a voice that he didn’t recognize called out.

His body froze as a strange girl wearing a green dress and having her hair in a segmented ponytail walked over, a worried look on her face. Next to her was a boy with partially teal hair that hung in his eyes and wearing a set of overalls as well as a similarly worried look, and hovering over both of them was the annoying yellow bird from before. He didn’t want to speak yet, not being able to tell what their intentions were.

“See what I mean? He looks like he’s been drained of all of his colors!” the bird said with a frown.

“I didn’t know Drawica was involved in my creation.” Shadow quipped, trying to keep his mind off of how hungry he was as well as much as he missed everyone in his world, even Drawcia.

“You can talk!” the girl said, seeming extremely surprised.

“You guys keep saying that. I’m guessing your Kirby doesn’t talk?” Shadow says with a thoughtful hum, rubbing under his one eye.

“‘Your Kirby’?” the girl asked in confusion.

“Without getting overly complicated, pretty much there are infinite amounts of different Kirbies depending on choices/universal factors. Mine is...where all of us are reflections of someone else, while I’m not exactly sure how your universe is different.” Shadow explained, taking a stick and drawing in the dirt in front of him.

“I...think I get it. But how did you get here?” the girl said, her face thoughtful but still very confused.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. My current suspicion is Dedede, as normally in my universe, he’s an asshole who thinks he’s hot shit and wants everyone in Dreamland to submit to him, even though he’s nowhere near the most powerful being.” Shadow explained, pointing at the castle in the distance.

“Dedede is a menace in your universe too, huh?” the girl said with a small giggle.

“Oh definitely. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to beat the shit out of him.” Shadow agreed with a small smile of his own.

However, that’s when his stomach loudly growled, making him blush a little at the sign of weakness. But, much to his surprise, the three all just giggled and gave him a happy smile.

“No matter the universe, Kirbies always need a lot of food, huh?” the boy said with a laugh.

He sheepishly nodded before blinking in surprise at the girl’s outstretched hand.

“Why don’t you come get some food before we go to Dedede and see if he had anything to do with you being here?” she said kindly, her voice soft and sympathetic.

He debated what he should do. On one hand, the faster he found out what was going on, the faster he could go home. But, on the other hand, it couldn’t possibly hurt to just...hang around little and have a small treat?

“Sounds good to me.”

=======

Hoshi ooo-ed and aaah-ed at the scenery that passed by him, finding the reds and purples of the sky honestly very pretty, even if sometimes they were covered by dark gray clous. Soon, he let out an excited gasp at the sight of a green stalk with pretty bell-shaped flowers as well as small green berries and some purple-black berries. Hoshi reached out to pluck one of the ripe looking berries as he and his carrier passed when suddenly he was jerked away, making him pout and turn toward the jester, who looked angry and slightly worried.

“Don’t eat those! You could get very sick and you wouldn’t want that. Believe me.” Marx said as they approached the top of the stalk.

“Okay.” Hoshi said, disappointed but trusting that his new friend knew what was going on.

His disappointment soon evaporated as a beautiful gold and purple-red castle came into view. He watched excitedly as they flew over the wall that surrounded the castle, allowing him to see the small bee-like people who flew around the castle. Hoshi laughed and cheered excitedly as they swooped down and went into the entrance of the castle, quickly flying through the halls. Everywhere were pretty wooden sculptures that depicted various fights and events, though he didn’t get to look at them for long.

Finally, they arrived at an intricately carved set of golden doors that had a wasp on one side and a termite on the other one. The jester pushed them open before heading inside, now slowing down. On either side, Hoshi could see statues of all sorts of people, one of them being the jester himself as well as...him? Hoshi tilted his head to the side as one of the statues closest to the front looked like him but looked much more tired and had armor similiar to Meta Knight on. But he wasn’t able to think about it long as the jester took his distraction as an opprotunity to peel him off and place him on the ground.

Sitting on a pair of thrones were a giant termite with a black and red heart and wearing a large crown as well as a much smaller looking wasp with curved horns who had paused on working on something small in his hands. The two both looked at Hoshi with confusion before they looked back at the jester.

“Marx, what...happened to him?” the termite asked as she floated out of her seat and prodded Hoshi with a claw, making him giggle and laugh.

“I literally just found him at our Kirby’s place, so honestly I’m as clueless as you are.” the jester, Marx, explained with a shrug of his wings.

“He looks like the Kirby that I fought when I was helping Nightmare. But he had...a different magical signature. This feels much less experienced and less...controlled, if that makes any sense.” the wasp hummed thoughtfully as he set aside his project and started to examine Hoshi, making him giggle.

“So he’s like...a baby version of Kirby?” Marx said in confusion.

“More or less. We should take him to Magolor or Susie. They have a better sense of how alternate dimensions are.” the wasp said, creating a little hammock made of webs.

Hoshi giggled with joy as he was scooped up and was carried off, enjoying this new adventure that he was being taken on.

=======

It was so strange for Parallel to see Waddle Dee get happily greeted by everyone they passed, and even get some waves of welcome himself. It made him feel almost guilty for what he did in his own universe, but this wasn’t the time or place to think of what he could’ve done better. He was finally taken to King Dedede’s palace, a place that made his stomach fill with lead as he stopped at the entrance.

He hadn’t been here in...god knew how long. He knew it wasn’t his Dedede. But...there was the fact that he had to see a King Dedede at all was what made him hesitate. What if he was still an enemy, like he was in Parallel’s world? What if he was going to attack him? What if-?

A sudden squeeze to his hand brought him back to reality and, for a second, he thought Marx was standing next to him but it was Bandana Waddle Dee, who gave him a reassuring smile (or, well, as best as he could without actually having a mouth). He steeled his nerves and walked into the castle after Bandana, ignoring all the looks that the Waddle Dees and Doos gave the two. All over the castle were tapestries of the victories of someone who looked like him, from defeating a large eldritch sphere to defeating what looked like an alternate version of Magolor.

However, he paused in front of a tapestry of the figure holding the Star Rod and defeating Nightmare. Parallel put his hand on the tapestry, feeling something emotion that he couldn’t describe build up in his chest at the sight of this...alternate version of him defeating Nightmare. He didn’t realize that he had started to cry until Bandana put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he squeezed Bandana’s hand tighter as they continued down the hallway. 


	3. Finding A Way

Nebula couldn't help but smile at how adorably sleepy Kiby was. Even the alternate Light version of himself seemed to take great comfort about being surrounded by a cloak. Probably because of his Meta Knight, as xeir Meta Knight had off-handedly mentioned once.

“Nebula? Are you doing okay?” Ceradon asked, jolting xem out of xeir thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just...got a little distracted by him.” Nebula said, xeir eye crinkling as xey “smiled” at xeir partner.

“Okay, just making sure. You seemed…” Ceradon paused as vey searched for a word to describe xem, “a little sad, that's all.” vey said slowly.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just hurry to Sectonia’s before anyone notices us.” xey dismissed, making Ceradon nod in agreement.

The two headed toward the Dreamstalk, passing by the levels of Floralians, before they arrived at the top, where Sectonia stayed with the Dimensional Mirrors. Ceradon opened the palace doors and they went down the winding corridors until they got to the Dimensional Temple, as Sectonia liked to call it, which had an engraving of the Mirrors on either door.

Ceradon pushed the door open and the two entered before Ceradon closed the door again. The room was rather small and unlit, with nothing really remarkable about it. Which was the point, as even if someone was to come here, Sectonia was the only one who knew the proper code and whose magic actually worked to activate the rest of the room.

“Sectonia? Are you here?” Nebula called out, xeir grip unconsciously tightening on Kirby

“Coming!” the spider called from behind the wall.

Nebula watched as the wall made a spider-web pattern before a clicking sound was heard and the doors swung open, revealing Sectonia floating there, her six hands clasped together in a happy manner as she grinned at the pair. The Light Mirror and it’s speculated twin, the Parallel Mirror, were fastened onto the wall behind her, covered by shrouds just in case, and Nebula could spot Sectonia’s little nook in the wall, which was shaped like a honeycomb.

“It’s been awhile, you two! What’s brought you to my humble dwelling?” she asked, gesturing the two to come closer.

“Well…”

Ceradon paused and looked over at Nebula. The Dark Matter nodded and carefully placed the still sleeping Kirby onto the floor. Sectonia gasped, two of her hands flying to her mouth while the other four went to her heart. She soon seemed to recover from her shock as she approached the sleeping figure.

“How did he…?” she asked, looking between him and the mirror behind her in confusion.

“We don’t know. Shadow is gone and we found Kirby sleeping in his room.” xey explained, messing with xeir “hair” as xey talked.

“This is quite puzzling. I don’t detect any Dimensional mirror magic on him, so he didn’t use anything along those lines. But…” she frowned as she sniffed him, a repulsed look on her face, “There are DEFINITELY traces of magic on him. I can’t tell who did it or why, but they did.” Sectonia said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Do you think it would be safe to send him back through the Dimensional Mirror?” Ceradon asked, worriedly wringing their wings together.

“Possibly. But, there is the thing of we don’t know what’s going on on the opposite side. So we aren’t sure if sending him through will cause a panic.” she replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“So should we just...keep him here?” Nebula asked in confusion.

Sectonia thought for a bit, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of a solution. However, by the annoyed and frustrated look on her face when she seemed to think of it, it wasn’t a good one.

“We need Meta Knight’s help.”

=======

This Kirby...was definitely strange.

From the way he spoke, to the way that he ate, to even the way that he walked, it was such a jarring experience for Fumu. Yes, he still had his voracious appetite and yes, he still had the same general shape as the Kirby she knew, but that still didn’t stop her from seeing differences.

Shadow, as he called himself, seemed very aware of the graveness of the situation, even though he didn’t word it. He had this sullen look as he ate, often staring off into the distance at the castle and sometimes not even responding to questions until the person, usually Bun, had fully gotten his attention.

There was another thing that she noticed was how he tended to shy away from physical affection or attention of any kind. When Bun tried to tap his arm, Shadow’s first response was to hit him with the blunt end of his knife before pointing the knife, his eyes wide with panic. It took a minute for him to relax, but throughout the meal he just kept on glancing around after that when he wasn’t staring off into space, as if he was worried he was going to be attacked

“Hey Shadow?” Fumu finally decided to speak up at the end of the meal, “What’s your universe like?”

Shadow paused with his final bite of food and placed it down on the plate as he tapped the fork on it repeatedly.

“It’s…” he paused, tilting his head back as he tried to think of a way to describe it, “It’s...very different from this one. It’s constantly nighttime, with not many people staying outdoors due to King Dedede’s guards usually stalking around looking for any excuse to fight. Hell, the only reasons why I normally go out is because there’s some kind of mission, or I’m sparring with Meta Knight, or going to hang out with my brother and his friends.” he explained, his expression and body tense.

“Brother?” Bun echoed, sharing a look with Fumu of surprise.

“Yeah. His name is Magolor, and he’s honestly the sweetest. We aren’t related by blood, but it doesn’t really matter. He and his significant others are some of the only people who I trust, other than Fluff and Bandana, of course.” Shadow explained, a small smile on his face.

“I don’t think we have him in our universe.” Fumu commented thoughtfully.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. In my universe, he’s from a far-off planet called Halacondria, an icy planet with very little warmth.” he said dismissively, popping the final bite of food into his mouth.

However, as he did, he suddenly froze and turned toward the door, staring at it intently as he picked up the knife and held it close to himself, as if he was ready for an attack.

“Shadow, what’s wrong?” Bun asked as Shadow slid off of his chair quietly and approached the door.

But Shadow didn’t respond, instead he opened the door and pointed the knife at the person standing in front of it. Which was Sir Meta Knight. Meta Knight’s eyes turned a greenish hue as he stared at the alternate Kirby as well as the knife that was being pointed at him before it faded into his normal yellow.

“I thought I had sensed a stronger Star Warrior in the area.” Meta Knight commented, lowering the knife slowly with his cloaked hand.

“And I thought I sensed a different Meta Knight.” Shadow commented, placing the knife back onto the table with a little bit of a struggle.

“I’m guessing in...a different universe of some kind, I’m not like how I am here?” Meta Knight commented, looking Shadow up and down.

“He’s a stuck-up asshole who apparently ‘sees potential’ in me and then tries to get me to ‘unlock’ it by fighting me every day until I manage to unarm him. Despite me telling him Sword by far is not my best ability and that I’m much better at Fire.” Shadow snorted, seeming to get very bitter about that fact.

Meta Knight seemed intrigued and turned around, his cape fluttering dramatically behind him.

“Why don’t you show me your capabilities of Fire?” he commented before walking away.

Shadow seemed almost excited as he followed after him, a glint in his eyes that made a shiver go down Fumu’s back. It reminded her of when Kirby had gotten possessed by that frog monster. It radiated something negative and she didn’t like it.

=======

Marx didn’t know how to feel about the love of his life and his second boyfriend now being either had been reverted to or replaced with a child. What made matters worse was that the little brat seemed to have imprinted on him, as when he wasn’t ooo-ing and aww-ing at the scenery (which he honestly couldn’t understand, a lot of it was a wreck from the various fights that had broken out over the years), he was turning around to look at Marx and kept on babbling and waving at him.

It was both kind of endearing and very annoying.

He was leaning more towards annoying.

Which is why he felt a giant wave of relief wash over him as he noticed the Lor perched on top of Susie’s castle, meaning Magolor and Susie were actually home instead of going around colonizing/robotozing the universe or whatever the fuck those two did during their “alone time”. Flying inside, he immediately spotted the two nerds at a workbench, both in their smaller forms, discussing something over blueprints that were overly complicated.

“Honey, I’m home~!” Marx joked as he landed in front of the two of them, blocking the blueprints from view.

“Marx, darling, can you move from the blueprints? Me and Maggie were discussing something very important.” Susie asked with a small endeared smile on her face.

“Well..” he drew out the syllables as a mischievous smirk appeared on his face, “I’ll move if you pay the kiss toll.” he said with a small giggle.

Susie rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before giving him a small peck on the cheek. And, before Marx could even say anything to Magolor, the Halacondrian took his hands and, picking up Marx, dipped him dramatically before kissing him fully on the lips. The two stayed like that for about a minute before they broke, both giggling and headbutting each other, purrs vibrating throughout their bodies.

“Wh-?! We didn’t get that when you came to see us!” Taranza said in mock-offense as he and Sectonia came in, toting the little baby in with them.

“I get to see you two whenever I want! It’s rare for me to see Maggie and Susie with their whole world domination thing going on.” Marx explained matter-of-factly.

But, feeling a little bit bad, he flew back over to Taranza and gave him a kiss on the lips before giving Sectonia a kiss on the cheek, making Taranza smirk triumphantly and Sectonia to make a loud clicking sound with her mandibles as she put her hands over her face in embarrassment.

“So, why are all three of you visiting at once? I thought date night wasn’t until Friday?” Magolor said, sounding both endeared and also confused.

“Oh! Right!” Marx said, having been so focused on seeing his queer-platonic girlfriend as well as his boyfriend that he had forgotten why they were there in the first place.

He then went over to the net that Taranza was holding Baby Kirby in and took him out, showing him to the other two. Immediately, Susie gasped and held him up, cooing as she tickled his belly, making him laugh and snuggle up to her.

“Awww, what a cute baby! Where did you find him?” she asked, squishing him tightly almost like a plush toy.

“At Kirby’s house. I went to go get him to make sure he was okay after his drinking contest with Galacta and Morpho and found the little kid instead.” Marx explained, his wings twitching nervously.

Magolor’s face scrunched up as he approached the child and poked his side.

“He smells like a mix of Nightmare and Dark Mind’s magic but somehow even more rotten than both of them combined.” he grumbled.

“So do you think that they teamed up and did this?” Taranza said, looking like he was ready to go pull the old fuckers out of the Mirrors they had trapped them in to beat the shit out of both of them again.

“Not the one we know. I know the smell of both of their magic, and neither perfectly match this smell, even if they were to team up. But it’s close enough that it could be that an alternate version of them teamed up.” Magolor said with a shake of his head.

“But wasn’t the dimensional mirror shattered?” Sectonia asked in confusion.

All eyes turned on Taranza. He looked almost guilty as he mumbled something before Sectonia gently gestured for him to talk louder. He sighed in defeat as he looked at the rest of the group.

“It was. But...I put it back together. I hid it with Nightmare and D-Mind’s mirrors so I didn’t have the...temptation to use it again.” he said with an almost pained look.

“Then let’s go and see if we can get any information from that world.” Marx said.

Everyone nodded in agreement and set off, following Taranza to the mirror. Marx just had to hope that the people on the other side wouldn’t freak out upon seeing them.

=======

Bandana was very worried for Kirby that he had discovered.

For one, there were multiple scars across his body, with one on the right side of his head, one over his right eye, one over his lip, and one across his left arm. For two, his reaction upon seeing the tapestry of Bandana’s Kirby defeating Nightmare was...concerning to say the least. The fact that he looked so remorseful and almost guilty told Bandana that something...bad had happened when it came to that event.

And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to even know what DID happen.

“Hey, Kirby?” Bandana said softly as they stopped outside of King Dedede’s throne room.

“Yeah?” he asked, his eyes seeming a little red from crying.

“Are you sure that you’re ready to see King Dedede? You seemed...a little hesitant before.” Bandana asked carefully, avoiding the fact that Kirby had looked petrified.

Kirby looked almost surprised that he was given a choice and he stared down at the ground, one hand absently rubbing the scar over his eye while the other kept on squeezing and then letting go of Bandana’s hand. He then looked nervously at Bandana as a small worried frown formed on his face.

“Can...you tell me about what your Dedede is like? I think that would help me out a bit.” he said quietly, squeezing Bandana’s hand so tight it hurt.

Bandana nodded sympathetically and led him to a small bench, where they sat down.

“His Highness is...rash, headstrong, and loud-mouthed but, when push comes to shove, he has a heart of gold and he takes care of so many people, myself and all of the Waddle Dees and Doos included. Hell, he and Meta Knight ended up adopting Kirby into our crazy, large family.” he said, a “smile” on his face as he thought of how Kirby slowly became part of the family.

“That sounds nice.” Kirby said with a small smile, though there was a sadness in his eyes that Bandana couldn’t name.

“Do you want me to go on, or…?” Bandana trailed off, making sure that he was fully okay with going to see the King.

“I think I’m okay.” he said with a nod as he got up, still not letting go of Bandana’s hand.

“Alright, let’s go then!” Bandana said optimistically, feeling both nervousness and excitement bubble up inside of him.

Kirby smiled and nodded in agreement as they approached the door. With a solid shove, it opened, showing that Dedede was sitting on his throne talking quietly with Meta Knight and Magolor. Immediately, Kirby gasped and seemed to have conflicting emotions on his face as his eyes were locked onto the Halocondrian.

“Are we interrupting anything?” Bandana asked loudly, getting the three’s attention.

Immediately, all eyes turned toward the two and he heard Kirby make a soft whine as he hid behind Bandana, shaking as if something bad was going to happen. Dedede looked intrigued as he looked around Bandana to look at Kirby, an eyebrow raised curiously.

“Who’s the Kirby look-alike?” he asked, sounding calm and collected.

“I...don’t know. I went to go get Kirby for a picnic when...this Kirby was there instead.” Bandana explained.

“Does he remember what he was doing last night beforehand?” Meta Knight asked tensely, obviously not trusting why suddenly Kirby was gone and there was another Kirby in his place.

“I went drinking with my datemates as well as Galacta and Morpho, which led to a drinking contest that I won, and the last thing I remember before blacking out was Marx helping me get home, because normally I spend hangovers alone just drinking water and staying away from bright light.” Kirby explained quietly, barely audible.

“There’s...a lot to unpack there.” Dedede commented in a manner that made it obvious that he was both serious and joking.

“You mentioned Marx?” Magolor said, his eyes wide and his ears perked up.

“Yeah. Me, Marx, Magolor, Sectonia, Taranza, and Susie are in a polycule while Galacta and Morpho are dating.” Kirby said, fidgeting with the bow of Bandana’s bandana.

“Wait, did Sectonia not get defeated?” Dedede asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“...None of them did. I...I had tried to defeat Nightmare years ago, again and again, just getting more battered and bruised without anyone to help me. So...I gave up. I went home and just watched as villains rose up and slowly took over Popstar bit by bit. And then Marx came to me asking if I wanted immunity to the takeover by being their consort. And I accepted. And it’s been like that for...6 years now?” Kirby explained, sounding defeated and ashamed as he admitted this.

“Did...did becoming their consort make you happy?” Bandana asked carefully, feeling the urge to hug and pat Kirby.

“Honestly? Yeah. It does. They actually care about me and want the best for me. There was a single hiccup with Taranza where he went to a different dimension to help Nightmare take over there, and ended up dragging Susie and Landia into it, but otherwise was fine.” he said, seeming a little more at peace with his decisions.

“Wait. Does your Taranza look like a wasp with glowing red eyes and wears purple and gold?” Magolor asked suddenly, looking as if he had figured something out.

“Yeah, that’s actually him to a T. How did you know?” Kirby asked, blinking in confusion.

“Because I know which dimension you’re from. And I think I know how to get you back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!  
> So starting with this chapter, I'm going to be alternating between writing this fic and writing my Chatfic "Oh God Why Is Everyone Shipping Us Send Help", just to mostly make sure I stop getting writer's block and that I have somewhat of a schedule.


	4. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Hoshi's section involves some heavy subject matter, including mentions of depression, suicide, and violence, as well as trying to provoke someone to do the previously mentioned things. If you're uncomfortable with any of that, then skip the section in it's entirety.

Kirby woke up to the sound of almost panicked sounding yelling. Slowly opening his eyes and adjusting to the low-light, he noticed that Nebula was in front of a spider, xeir hands wildly gesturing as xey spoke rapidly about something that Kirby couldn’t quite comprehend. Turning to the side, he saw that Ceradon was teething on the edge of one of veir wings, looking worried.

“What’s going on?” he asked Ceradon quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on between the spider and Nebula.

Ceradon seemed a little startled before vey sighed as vey messed with veir feathers nervously.

“Sectonia suggested we go to Meta Knight to make sure that we don’t get attacked when we return you to your world, and Nebula doesn’t really...like Meta Knight that much, so they immediately refused to take you to him.” vey explained, nodding toward the arguing two.

“Do you mean Dark Meta Knight?” Kirby asked in confusion, still waking up so he still hadn’t fully processed everything.

“Yeah, Nebula thinks that he’s...kinda an ass, especially to Shadow, and like. We understand he means well and he wants the best for him, but also the way to do it is not to force him to hone a single skill that Meta Knight prefers instead of the one that Shadow prefers.” Ceradon explained with a nod.

“Yikes. Dad used to do that before he realized it wasn’t the best to like...pressure me into a single power up, especially when there are ones that I like a lot more and were much better at.” Kirby said, thinking about how Meta Knight used to be when he first arrived.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Sectonnia suddenly said, finally noticing him with wide, bright blue eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve been awake for the past...minute or two.” Kirby said with a small smile and wave.

“That means you can actually give your own opinion on this: would it be more or less suspicious for us to just go through the mirror with or without Dark Meta Knight? Because I think it would be less suspicious, considering that the ones in your world know him better and don’t know any of us.” the spider explained, looking almost exasperated as they glared at Nebula.

“Well…”

Kirby paused as he weighed his options. On one hand, his sudden disappearance and the appearance of Shadow probably made everyone worried and him reappearing with Dark Meta Knight would confirm “oh they just swapped places somehow”. But, on the other hand, if he returned with Dark Meta Knight, they could jump to the conclusion of “Dark Meta Knight kidnapped Kirby and did something to him”.

“Best case scenario, everyone just is like ‘oh they just swapped places’ while on the other hand, they could jump to the conclusion that he kidnapped me. So...honestly I think it would be best to get him, just in case.” Kirby said slowly with a nod.

Immediately, Sectonia beamed widely and flew up to go do something. While she did that, Nebula floated over, a worried look in xeir eye as xey messed with the hem of their cloak.

“Are you sure that going to go get him is the best option?” xey fretted nervously.

“Well, I feel like, even if he isn’t involved in all of this, it would still be better than just showing back up with 0 context with people that they don’t know.” he said with a shrug.

“Alright, I’m going to go get Meta Knight! You three are free to explore the castle while I’m gone! Just stay out of this room until I get back.” Sectonia chirped cheerfully, surprisingly so for someone who was now holding a large battle axe.

“I...Okay.” Kirby blinked a few times, still getting a bit of whip-lash of seeing her so happy but also holding something that makes it seem like she’s going to g murder Dark Meta Knight.

“See you three when I get back with him~!” she called out before zipping away.

As soon as Sectonia was gone, the two left the room, almost as if they were scared to stay in there. Kirby went to leave but paused, staring at where the Dimensional Mirror sat on the wall. Part of him felt like he should just go without telling them but it was quickly overrun by the fact that the three were being so kind to them that it would be rude for him to leave without at least saying goodbye.

So, he carefully closed the door behind him, the feelings of wanting to leave strangely vanishing as soon as he stopped being in the presence of the mirror.

======

Shadow was practically bouncing with excitement and energy as he and Meta Knight arrived in a makeshift practice range in the canyon. There were several dummies laid out in front of him as well as a small little alter that had various elemental items: a bomb, a broom, a cooking pan, a sharp boomerang, a boxing glove, a torch, an ice cube, a hammer, shurikens, sharp thorns, a paintbrush, an umbrella, an electric plug, a rock, a sword, a blue headband, a fan, a car tire, and a feather.

“Choose your copy ability.” Meta Knight said, his eyes flashing teal briefly.

Shadow went over to the table and briefly debated doing one of the ones that he didn’t do that much, like Bomb or Ninja, but he couldn't resist to let off some steam with his favourite ability: Fire. Picking it up, he swallowed the torch whole, feeling it burn a hole in stomach before the burning sensation spread to the rest of his body, filling him with a new energy that had him bouncing.

Literally.

Surrounding himself in fire, he dashed back and forth at the dummies, letting his fire sear and burn them. A few times, he added an extra spin to his movements just for some extra flare. Deciding he was bored with just dashing, he stopped with a small explosion, landing on the ground gracefully. Exhaling the pent up energy that he had from just...generally not being able to vent, he sent out waves of fire over the dummies. Finally, he spun around until he was a fireball and swept by the dummies, going up the wall a little before he came back down, jumping by and finally landing and staying still, as the dummies were nothing but ash.

“Woah.” a voice said behind him. 

Shadow turned around to see that Fumu and Bun were watching with wide, impressed eyes. He felt a flicker of pride until he heard the clanking of Meta Knight approaching, causing him to nervously regard the knight as his fire dimmed down a little.

“You seem to have very good control over Fire.” he commented, his eyes flickering teal.

“I told you I was better at Fire than anything else.” Shadow snorted, rolling his eyes a little.

“Normally, I wouldn’t encourage you to...intimidate His Majesty into telling you whether or not he had to do with your sudden appearance. But, considering how powerful you are compared to the Kirby of this dimension, I would encourage it.” Meta Knight spoke slowly and carefully, seeming as if he was debating what he was saying.

“I’m coming too!” Fumu said, coming forward with a determined look on her face.

“Same!” Bun said with an equally determined nod.

“I can do this by myself.” Shadow grumbled, feeling his pride start to flare up a little.

“But in case that you can’t and you need help! We’ll have your backs!” Bun said, pulling out his slingshot with a bold grin as Fumu nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Just don’t get in my way.” Shadow huffed, though part of him was happy that people other than his family and friends were offering to help.

“Good luck.” Meta Knight said with a pat on Shadow’s head.

With that, the knight disappeared. Shadow looked at his two companions, who nodded at him encouragingly, and, with a firm idea of what he wanted to do, the three set off to King Dedede’s castle, wanting to get to the bottom of all of this.

======

Hoshi watched his new friends with big eyes, fascinated by what they were talking about. He didn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but their voices and appearances were so interesting that he couldn’t help but stare in silent awe at them talking. He especially loved Susie, who picked him up and had actually played with him, and Marx, who had been the first person who he encountered and had been so helpful.

From what little he could surmise, he wasn’t...exactly at his home, and instead was in a place that was either very far away or on a completely different plane of existence from his own.

He just hoped he would get home soon.

Right as his thoughts hit an unhappy note, he saw something that he could get excited about: a cool looking plant sprout that turned into a house at the top and had more of those pretty flowers on it. He briefly debated taking one of the berries that grew on the house but he paused as he remembered Marx’s warning so he just snuggled down into the surprisingly comfortable webbing that was surrounding him.

“Alright,” Taranza undid the webbing and let Kirby down, “We’re here.” he said, looking tense and worried.

Hoshi squeaked happily and immediately went to Susie, making her chuckle and rub the top of his head. He purred loudly, feeling safe with his new friends and enjoying just flying around and spending time with them.

“Don’t get attached to him. We’re returning him to his home and then getting our Kirby back.” Marx said with a huff, looking annoyed.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t visit.” Susie said, sounding hopeful about that idea.

“If you insist.” Magolor said with a shrug.

“What’re you ‘heroes’ doing here? Did you decide to finally just submit to the status of being villains?” a cruel voice sneered.

The group froze and Hoshi peeked out from where he was standing on the other side of Susie to see that there were two mirrors hanging on the wall. However, instead of showing the group, the one mirror showed a figure that looked about like Dedede but extremely distorted as well as wearing a strange mask while the other figure…

Hoshi let out a soft whine at the other person. He didn’t know who exactly it was, but it had the same energy as the Demon Beasts from the Nightmare Enterprises and it made him very uncomfortable. Upon hearing him whimper, the figure laughed and leered at him maliciously.

“What happened to your failure of a boyfriend? Did he finally get tired of living and end it?” he laughed mockingly.

“Don’t fucking talk about Kirby that way.” Marx snarled, a look of genuine fury on his face.

“What’re you going to do? You’re such a weakling that you got defeated by me, and even have the scars to prove it.” the figure who reminded him of a Demon Beast continued to taunt, pressing his fingers against the surface of the mirror.

“I’ll give you some fucking scars to think about.” Marx threatened as he started to walk towards the mirror.

“Marx, he’s just trying to get under your skin.” Taranza said, also tense as he pulled up a spiderweb in his hands.

“Did you finally grow a backbone after getting manipulated by Nightmare and me so easily?” the Dedede-looking figure said with a laugh and a grin.

“That’s it. You’re getting your face punched in.” Marx snarled angrily, raising one of his wings to smack the mirror.

However, before he could, Magolor suddenly was much larger, a pink aura surrounding him as he picked up Marx and held him tightly in his hand. He then glared at the two figures before leaving without saying a word. The two continued to taunt the group as they continued through the building, Susie holding Hoshi tightly almost like a plushie.

Once they were out of range of the two’s cruel words, Susie’s grip on Hoshi loosened and Magolor gently put Marx on the floor before reverting to his previous form, wavering in the air before Sectonia gently picked him up and started to carry him. Marx seemed just...completely drained, which seemed extremely out of character and worrying.

Hoshi jumped out of Susie’s grip and went over to Marx, holding onto his wing and giving him a worried “poyo”. The jester seemed tired but a small smile flickered onto his face as he put his free wing on the top of Hoshi’s head and patted it a few times.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I’ve been through worse than that; trust me.” Marx tried to reassure, scooping him up with his left wing and letting him perch on the top of his right wing.

But that didn’t help the uneasy feeling that was in Hoshi’s stomach. So Hoshi just started to purr, feeling it reverberate through the metal wings, hoping that it would both of them feel better about what had just happened.

=======

“You do?” Bandana asked in confusion, furrowing their brow as they stared at him.

“Well...you know how the mirror shattered after Kirby and his squad defeated D-Mind?” Magolor said with an almost sheepish look.

That’s when it clicked exactly where he was. He was in the dimension of the Kirby that kicked both Nightmare and D-Mind’s asses and sent them back through the mirror, shattering it in the process.

Which meant there was definitely a chance that whatever this was, it was probably caused by one of those two. Which made him very uneasy, considering what had happened to Taranza, Landia, and Susie during the last time. He gripped Bandana’s hand tighter, making them give him a confused look which then turned into one of sympathy.

“Could you take me and Parallel to the portal?” Bandana asked, looking at Magolor with a determined expression.

“Yeah, of course. I made sure to store it far away so there was no chance that anyone on Popstar would use it, but it’s reachable via the Lor.” Magolor explained with an equally determined nod.

“Would you be okay with that?” Bandana asked, gently squeezing Parallel’s hand once for comfort.

Parallel nodded slowly, making the other two nod before the three started to head out. As he was led out of the castle, passing by the tapestries, he realized how nice it was to be so...free and peaceful.

Which made him worry something bad was going to happen in the very near future.


End file.
